German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Sommersdorf Sommersdorf is a municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed the former municipality Marienborn.Mecklenburg-Strelitz as the son of a farmer. After attending the Gymnasium at Neubrandenburg from 1766–1769, he was obliged to accept a private tutorship in order to earn money to enable him to study at a university. At the invitation of

Heinrich Christian Boie Heinrich Christian Boie (19 July 1744 – 3 March 1806) was a German author. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein (at the time a part of the Danish monarchy). After studying law at Jena, he went in 1769 to Göttingen, where he became one of th ...

, whose attention he had attracted by poems contributed to the ''Göttinger Musenalmanach'', he went to the University of Göttingen in 1772. Here he studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

, his studies encompassing both classical and modern languages, and became one of the leading spirits in the famous ''Hain'' or ''Dichterbund''. In 1775 Boie made over to him the editorship of the '' Musenalmanach'', which he continued to issue for several years. He married Boie's sister Ernestine in 1777. In 1778 Voss was appointed rector of the school at Otterndorf. In 1781, after the publication of several treatises, he produced a German-language text for

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

''. This work made the poem national with the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(new ed. by Bernays, 1881). In 1782, Voss accepted the rectorship of the gymnasium at

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning i ...

. There, in 1789, he published translations of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by offer ...

'' and ''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

''. In 1793, his translation of Homer's ''Iliad'' appeared, along with the ''Odyssey'' in a new form. He also produced two volumes of controversial letters addressed to

Christian Gottlob Heine Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. ...

(''Mythologische Briefe'', 1794). He retired from Eutin in 1802 with a pension of 600 thalers, and settled at

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

. In 1805, although

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

used his utmost endeavours to persuade him to stay, Voss accepted a call to a professorship of classical literature at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. Here, in the enjoyment of a considerable salary, he devoted himself entirely to his literary labours, translations and antiquarian research until his death.

Work

Poetry and essays

Voss was a man of a remarkably independent and vigorous character. From 1785 to 1795 he published in two volumes a collection of original poems, to which he afterwards made many additions. An edition of his poems in four volumes was issued in 1825. Of these original works, the idyllic poem ''Luise'', is uniformly singled out as his most successful. It was first printed in 1783, and reissued with changes in 1795. In this work, he sought to apply the style and methods of classical poetry to the expression of modern German thought and sentiment. The later works ''Wie ward Fritz Stolberg ein Unfreier'' (1819) and ''Antisymbolik'' (2 vols., 1824–1826), the latter written in opposition to Georg Friedrich Creuzer, have been characterized as painstaking and dignified, but dreary. His poems were often set by contemporary composers such as C.P.E. Bach, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, and

Johann Abraham Peter Schulz Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (31 March 1747, Lüneburg – 10 June 1800, Schwedt) was a German musician. He is best known as the composer of the melody for Matthias Claudius's poems " Der Mond ist aufgegangen" and "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" ...

, and also later composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Carl Maria von Weber, and Johannes Brahms. Many of his poems and settings of them were published in the ''Musenalmanach''. Based on his correspondence with Schulz, he favored a folklike style of Lied composition. Voss's ''Mythologische Briefe'', his ''Antisymbolik'', and other writings made important contributions to the study of

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

. He was also prominent as an advocate of the right of free judgment in religion, and at the time when some members of the Romantic school were being converted to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, he produced a strong impression by a powerful article, in ''Sophronizon'', on his friend Friedrich von Stolberg's repudiation of

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

(1819).

Reception and criticism

According to the ''Metzler Lexikon'', the heroines of the Voss's ballad ''Der Freier'' and a German traditional song share not only the black colour of hair (eyes), but also some primitive — or even erotic — ″sensuality".

Translations

It is, however, as a translator that Voss chiefly owes his place in German literature. His translations indicate not only sound scholarship but a thorough mastery of the laws of German diction and rhythm. The most famous of his translations are those of Homer. The translation of the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

'', as originally issued in 1781, is singled out as the most successful. He also translated

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

(1806), Theocritus, Bion and

Moschus Moschus ( el, Μόσχος), ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC. Aside from his poetry, he was known for his grammatical work, nothing ...

(1808), the whole of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

(1799, rev. ed. 1821), Horace (1806), Tibullus (1810), Propertius (1830) and selections from

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

(1798). He prepared a critical edition of Tibullus. From 1818 to 1829, a translation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's plays in 9 volumes was published. This work Voss completed with the help of his sons Heinrich and Abraham, both of whom were scholars and writers of considerable ability, though the result has been characterized as less successful than Schlegel's work. Voss's ''Sämtliche poetische Werke'' were published by his son Abraham in 1835; new ed. 1850. A selection is in A. Sauer, ''Der Göttinger Dichterbund'', vol. i. (

Joseph Kürschner Joseph Kürschner (20 September 1853, in Gotha – 29 July 1902, on a journey to Huben) was a German author and editor most often cited for his critical edition of classics from German literature. Biography At first engaged in mechanical en ...

's ''Deutsche National-literatur'', vol. 49, 1887). His ''Letters'' were published by his son in 3 or 4 volumes (Halberstadt, 1829–1833). Voss left a short autobiography, ''Abriß meines Lebens'' (1818). See also Wilhelm Herbst, ''Johann Heinrich Voß'' (3 volumes, Leipzig, 1872–1876); Friedrich Heussner, ''Johann Heinrich Voß als Schulmann in Eutin. Festschrift zum hundertjährigen Gedenktage seiner Ankunft daselbst'' (1882); and another life by Paulus (Heidelberg, 1826); also Prutz, ''Der Göttinger Dichterbund'' (Leipzig, 1841). According to '' Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'', Voss is the most likely source for the phrase ''Wein, Weib und Gesang'', or, in English, ''

wine, women and song "Wine, women, and song" is a hendiatris that endorses hedonistic lifestyles or behaviors. A more modern form of the idea is often expressed as "sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll", a phrase popularized by British singer Ian Dury in his son ...

''. Voss's full phrase is ''Wer nicht liebt Wein, Weib und Gesang / Der bleibt ein Narr sein Lebelang'' ("He who loves not wine, woman and song / Remains a fool his whole life long").

Notes

References

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Voss, Johann Heinrich 1751 births 1826 deaths German classical scholars 18th-century German poets 19th-century German poets German translators People from Mecklenburg-Strelitz University of Göttingen alumni Heidelberg University faculty Translators of William Shakespeare German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers Translators of Homer Translators of Virgil

Life

Work

Poetry and essays

Reception and criticism

Translations

Notes

References

External links